Well we don't produce enough science graduates full stop*. So it's not a huge surprise that not many of them end up in the media. But I think Goldacre is correct in thinking that if more of the basics of medical trials got taught in schools we would probably see less nonsense in our papers and on the TV screens. In fact I've often thought that science teaching in schools (meaning, of course, the way I was taught science at my school) has an unfortunate tendency to focus on the body of knowledge produced by science as opposed to the methodology and that only reinforces Goldacre's point that science gets presented as opinions put forward by authority figures who have arrived at those opinions by mysterious and opaque mechanisms.
It wouldn't avoid the sneakier bad science creeping in, but would hopefully stop the whole nation getting its knickers in a twist over a study involving 12 subjects.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-09-06 09:16 pm (UTC)It wouldn't avoid the sneakier bad science creeping in, but would hopefully stop the whole nation getting its knickers in a twist over a study involving 12 subjects.
*from a certain point of view anyway.